Printing press



June G. GOEBEL ET AL 2305,72fl

PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 13 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. GOEBEL ET ALPRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 15 Sheets-Sheet 2 W Geo-rye 6024226June 25,, 194%. GOEBEL r ZZUSJYZQ PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 13Sheets-Sheet 3 ail/Maw G. GOEBEL ET AL 2205,72

PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 15 Sheets-Sheet 4 G. GOEBEL ET ALPRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 13 Sheets-Sheet 5 N y 3 I June 25,1940.. G. GOEBEL 5; AL 2,205,720

PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 13 Sheets-Sheet 7 Emma bow Goebezi,

June 25, 1940. a GQEBEL ET AL 2,205,720

PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 13Sheets-Sheet 8 MIM/ Q54 George602626.,

June 25, 1940. Q GOEBEL I 2,205,720

PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 15 Sheets-Sheet 9 3mm at I George 6066mmmwmm June 25,

1940* G. GOEBEL m- A] PRINTING PRESS Filed 001;. l, 1936 13 Sheets-Sheet10 swam tow 0 296 Gaze,

G. GOEBEL ET AL 2,205,720

PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 13 Sheets-Sheet 11 'II I I ca. GOEBELET AL 2, ,720

PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 1, 1936 13 Sheets-Sheet 15 June 25, 1940.

Patented June 25, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRINTING PRES S Inc.,Baltimore, Md.

York

, a corporation of New Application October 1, 1936, Serial No. 103,592

32 Claims.

The present invention relates to a press and, more particularly, to alithographing press.

An important object of the invention is to provide a press which will becapable of high speed production of uniformly printed sheets, all of themechanisms of the press being so designed that sheets to be printed orlithographed will be properly fed between the cylinders and thecylinders maintained in proper position for eflicient printing action.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a presswherein the press cylinders are held in printing position by fluidpressure.

Printing or lithographing presses of the rotary cylinder type, that is,presses including a plate cylinder, transfer cylinder and impressioncylinder, are ordinarily provided with means for supporting the transferand impression cylinders which are of such arangement that these two 90cylinders may be separated from the plate cylinder and from each otherfor inking operations or other operations preliminary to running. Thesupporting means is also ordinarily designed to permit the impressioncylinder to drop away 5 from the transfer cylinder in the event no sheetis presented for printing at the proper moment. The latter arrangementprevents the transfer cylinder from printing upon the surface of theimpression cylinder, as would be the case if the go'two cylinders wereto remain in their ordinary relation when no sheet has been presentedbetween them. It is also usual to have the same mechanism move the inkform rolls from the plate cylinder and interrupt the dampening mechanismwhen no sheet is presented for printmg.

Heretofore, the means for supporting the transfer and impressioncylinders and for permitting the impression cylinder to drop from thetransfer cylinder when no sheet is presented for printing has compriseda trip mechanism formed entirely of mechanical elements. Such amechanism must necessarily comprise extremely heavy elements since thecylinders of the press ordinarily weigh some hundreds of pounds andconsiderable leverage must be exerted to quickly raise the impressioncylinder after it has once been dropped due to the absence of a sheet,and in time to have it in printing position on the next printing cycleshould a sheet then be present for movement between the cylinders of theprinting couple. A further disadvantage of the mechanical arrangementordinarily used to support the cylinders results from the fact that theymust be frequently adjusted during the course of a days work. When apress is first started in the morning, all of the metal elements thereofare either cold or merely at room temperature. Assuming that the pressis then adjusted so that the cylinders will be properly spaced withregard to each other, it will be necessary to again adjust the cylindersafter the press has been operated for a short time, due to the heatingand resultant expansion of the elements which takes place duringoperation. Obviously, each time that the press remains idle for a shorttime and the various metal parts become cold and contract, are-adjustment must be made, requiring stopping of the press. Also, anumber of poorly printed sheets are usually produced before thenecessity of adjustment is noted, and test sheets are wasted during themaking of the adjustment.

The present invention includes a mechanism for supporting the transferand impression cylinders by fluid pressure, preferably a compressiblegaseous fluid such as air, this arrangement obviating all of thedifiiculties discussed above. More particularly, the use of air pressureto hold the cylinders in printing position eliminates all of the heavymechanical elements heretofore used to support and lift the cylinders.It has been found that the use of compressed air for this purpose, withthe construction included in the present invention enables theimpression cylinder to be quickly lifted for printing an entering sheetafter it has been dropped because of the absence of a sheet. The use ofcompressed air also entirely eliminates the necessity of frequentadjustment of the cylinders to proper printing position because most ofthe heavy mechanical elements ordinarily subject to change in length byreason of temperature changes, are entirely eliminated. For that reason,the press of the present invention may be adjusted to place the printingcylinders in the desired position and they will remain in that positionregardless of continuous or intermittent operation of the press. Afurther advantage resulting from the use of air is obtained by reason ofthe fact that the press cylinders may move apart by reason of thecompressibility of the air should a foreign object or a number ofsuperimposed sheets move between them, this separating movementobviating damage to the press from that source.

Another important object of the invention ancillary to the above, is theprovision of a valve mechanism for controlling the flow of air to thepressure chambers which support the printing couple. Still anotherobject of the invention is to provide a trip mechanism for controllingthe position of the flow control valves according to whether or not asheet is present for movement through the printing couple at the propermoment.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and drawings wherein,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the press;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the lower portion of the press;

Figure 3 is a central vertical sectional view through the journals ofthe transfer and impression cylinders;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view through the left hand journals ofthe plate cylinder and ink cylinder;

Figure 5 is a disembodied perspective view of the locking and operatingmeans for the ink form roll hangers;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view through the left hand side frametaken on the line 6B ofFigure 7 Figure 7 is an end elevation of the inkform roll throw-out mechanism;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional View of the supporting mechanism forthe impression cylinder journal;

Figure 9 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on the line 9-9of Figure 2;

Figure 10 is a detail sectional view on the line ill-i0 of Figure 9showing the dampening roll cam mechanism;

Figure 11 shows the cams of the dampening roll cam mechanism;

Figure 12 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale showing thesheet trip means forming part of the mechanism for controlling theposition of the press cylinders and ink form rolls;

Figures 13 and 14 are views similar to Figure 12 showing the sheet tripmeans in different positions;

Figure 15 is an elevation, partly in vertical section, showing themanual valves included in the flow circuits of the press cylindersupporting and ink form roll operating mechanism;

Figure 16 is a vertical sectional view through the axes of the valvesshown in Figure 15;

Figure 17 is a sectional view of the manual Impression valve disc shownin Figures 15 and 16;

Figure 18 is a front elevation of the seat on which the valve disc ofFigure 17 operates;

Figure 19 is a sectional view of the manual Ink valve disc shown inFigures 15 and 16;

Figure 20 is a front elevation of the seat on which the valve disc ofFigure 19 operates;

Figure 21 is a horizontal sectional view of the automatic valvemechanism taken on the line 2l-2I of Figure 22;

Figure 22 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 22-22 of Figure21;

Figure 23 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 23-23 ofFigure 22;

Figure 24 is a diagrammatic view showing the fluid flow circuits of thepress cylinder supporting and ink form roll operating mechanism; and

Figures 25 to 27 are views similar to Figure 24 showing the valves ofthe fluid flow circuits in various operating positions.

Summary of construction and operation The construction and operation ofthe press may be generally described as follows:

Referring to Figure 1, the numeral 38 indicates the upper or platecylinder of the press which receives ink from the ink form rollersgenerally designated by the numeral 40. Beneath the plate cylinder thereis provided the intermediate or transfer cylinder 4| which is providedwith a transfer blanket to receive the impression from the platecylinder 38 and print it upon a sheet S as the latter passes through theprinting couple formed by the transfer cylinder 4! and the lower orimpression cylinder 42. The sheet to be printed upon is fed from thefeed table 43 by a pusher bar 44, the sheet being properly positionedwith respect to the printing couple by a gauging mechanism generallyindicated by the numeral 45. In the normal operation of the press, at apredetermined moment in each rotary movement of the cylinders, a sheetto be printed or lithographed should be positioned on the feed table 43.If the sheet is so positioned, it will force a trip finger 46 downwardlyand the sheet trip mechanism 41 will thereby operate in the normalmanner to maintain an automatic valve mechanism 48 (Figure 9)controlling fluid flow circuits in such position that the fluidpressurein such circuits will support or hold the impression cylinder 42upwardly in contact with the transfer cylinder 4|. However, assumingthat a pair of manual valves 49 and 50 also included in the fluid flowcircuits are in their normal position for the running of the press,should no sheet be on the feed table at the proper moment, the tripfinger 46 will remain in the upward position shown in Figure 1, with theresult that the operation of the trip mechanism ll will be varied andthe automatic valve mechanism 48 will be actuated to so change the fluidpressure flow that impression cylinder 42 will drop out of contact withthe transfer cylinder ll, thereby preventing the transfer cylinder fromprinting upon the impression cylinder, as it would do if the twocylinders were left in normal position with no sheet passing betweenthem.

Actuation of manual valve 49, the impression valve, to off position,will permit the ink form rolls 40 to be manually moved either into orout of contact with the plate cylinder 38, and will cause the impressioncylinder 42 and the transfer cylinder 4| to drop with respect to theplate cylinder 38, the impression cylinder droppinga greater distancethan the transfer cylinder, thereby avoiding contact with the transfercylinder, all regardless of whether sheets are passed through theprinting couple. Actuation of manual valve 50, the ink valve, to onposition will permit the ink form roll throw-out mechanism, to bemanually operated regardless of whether sheets are passed through theprinting couple.

The roll dampening mechanism of the press includes an oscillating ductorroll 5|, the frequency of the oscillations of the ductor roll beingadjustable through a tappet mechanism 52. The speed of rotation of thefountain roll of the dampening mechanism is controlled through avariable frictional gear drive 53 shown in Figure 2.

Press cylinder drive In the following description of the press, the

front is regarded as the feed table end and the plate being designatedby the numeral 62. Power is provided from a motor 63 which acts througha belt or the like 64 to drive a large pulley 65 fixed to a shaft 96journalled in the right hand side plate 62. At its inner end, the shaft65 is provided with a relatively small herringbone gear 51 which mesheswith a herringbone gear 58 fixed to the right-hand end of the shaft 59which carries the impression cylinder 42, The shafts 10 and 1| of thetransfer cylinder 4| and the plate cylinder 38, respectively, arelikewise provided with herringbone gears 68a and 635, through whichthese cylinders are driven from the herringbone gear 68. The platecylinder 38 is journalled in the upper portion of the side plates of thepress and has no vertical movement but the shafts 69 and 19 of theimpression and transfer cylinders, respectively, are journalled in boxes12 and 13, respectively, vertically movable in the side plates of thepress through a mechanism hereinafter described.

The ink cylinder 89 and the form rollers associated therewith are driven(Figure 4) from a drive gear BI provided on the shaft 1| of the platecylinder 38, the gear 8| meshing with a small pinion 82 journaled on astud 83, pinion 82 driving a pinion B4 fixed to the shaft carrying theink cylinder 80. The above mechanism is provided within the left handside plate 5| of the press. The ink cylinder III! and the distributorand form rolls are reciprocated axially of the plate cylinder 38 bysuitable means.

The dampening mechanism I I5 (Figure 1) of the present press is of theusual construction and includes the ductor roll 5| which transfers waterfrom the fountain roll II'Ii to a form roller In which in turn placesthe water upon a pair of dampening or water rolls H8. The mechanism foroscillating the water ductor roll 5| comprises an arm at each end of thepress, the arm at the left-hand end being in the form. of a bell crankII9, one arm of which supports the adjacent end of the roll shaft andthe other arm of which has a rod I29 extending downwardly therefrom, thelower end of the rod being guided in a sleeve I2I (Figures 9 and 12)formed integrally with a bracket I22 fixed to the side frame 6| of thepress. The lower end of rod I20 bears on the upper end of a rod I23having its upper portion guided in a slot I24 in bracket I22 for apurpose hereinafter set forth. The lower end of rod I23 is connected toa bar I29 pivoted on a stud I39 fixed to the side frame 6|. The rod I 23is preferably connected to the bar I29 adjacent the free end of thelatter, the free end of the bar being joined by a link I3I to a rockerarm I32 pivoted on a stud I33 fixed to a bracket 52a within the sideframe 6|. The opposite end of the rocker arm I32 is provided with aroller I34 adapted to contact with a cam. mechanism 52 comprised of aplurality of cam rings I35 axially spaced upon and fixed to a shaft I36journaled in bracket 52a. The shaft I36 is driven by means of a pinionI31 (Figure 9) fixed to its inner end and which meshes with a smallerpinion I38 on a shaft I39, shaft I39 having a sprocket I49 fixed theretowhich is driven through a chain |4| from a sprocket provided on a sheettrip cam shaft I42, the drive of which will be hereinafter described.

Four of the cam rings I35 are preferably provided upon sheet I36, asshown in Figures 10 and 11, As shown in Figure 11, one of the cams isprovided with one rise I46, the next one may be provided with two risesarranged diametrically opposite, and the third and fourth rings I35 maybe provided with three and four rises, respectively, equidistantlyspaced about the rings. Figure 10 illustrates how the roller I34 ismounted on a pin I41 mounted in spaced arms at the free end of arm I32.Roller I34 is flanged and by sliding this roller upon the pin I41, itmay be positioned opposite the desired cam ring I35, being held in thatposition by its flanges. This selective positioning of the roller I34will control the number of rocking motions which may be given the ductorroll 5| through the rocker arm and rods I22 and I23 upon each rotationof the press cylinders. The roller I34 is held in contact with the cammechanism 52 by a spring I48 positioned between the free end of rockerarm I32 and the press base.

A readily adjustable mechanism for varying the amount of watertransmitted to the plate cylinder is thus provided.

The amount of moisture placed upon the plate cylinder may be furtherregulated by varying the speed of rotat on of the water fountain rollIIG. This roll is driven through a shaft I50 (Figs. 1 and 2), the shaftbeing geared to the roller through any suitable gearing, not shown. Thelower end of shaft I59 is provided with a worm wheel I5I meshing with aworm on a horizontally extending shaft I52 as shown in Figure 2journaled in the right hand side frame 62 and in a standard I54. Nearits inner end the shaft I52 has a relatively large friction disc I55fixed thereto with which a friction driving roller I56 is adapted toengage, the roller I56 being arranged with its axis at right angles tothe axis of the disc I55 and also engaging a driving disc I51 fixed to ashaft I59 journaled in standards I59 to extend parallel to shaft I52.

It will be apparent that when power is supplied to shaft I58, roller I56will be rotated causing the driven disc I55 to be likewise rotated andthereby rotating, through shafts I52 and I50, the water fountain rollIIIi.

It will be obvious that the position of the roller I55 with respect tothe axes of the friction discs I51 and I55 may be varied and the speedof rotation of the water fountain roller |2I may thus be regulated to avery fine degree.

The driving friction disc I51 is rotated through a spur pinion I15 onits shaft I58 and which meshes with a larger spur pinion I15 on a shaftI11, the shaft I11 also carrying a smaller herring-bone pinion I18 whichis driven by a large gear I19 on the sheet trip cam shaft I 42, gear I19being driven by a herring-bone pinion I89 on a stub shaft IBI carried inthe side frame 62, pinion I90 also being in engagement with and drivenby the herring-bone gear 68 on the impression cylinder shaft 69.

The ink form rolls 40 provided for the purpose of transferring from eachlarge form roll I90 to the plate cylinder 33 are mounted in suitablebrackets such as I92 in Figure 7. The brackets I92 are supported onhangers I94 (Figures 1, 4 and 7), a pair of which are swung from acollar I 95 secured to each side frame of the press in alignment withthe ink cylinder shaft I85.

When it is desired to perform any operation upon the plate cylinderpreliminary to running of the press, it is desirable to have the inkform rolls 40 moved out of engagement with the plate cylinder. To obtainthis action, the hangers I94 at each side of the press, being hung uponthe sleeves I95 (Figure 4) may be swung apart at their lower ends. Thehand operating means 75 for this purpose is best shown in Figures 6 and'7 and comprises a hand lever ZI5, one on each side of the press, eachlever being mounted on a stud 2I6 fixed in a plate 2|! overlying thecorresponding end of the shaft ll of the plate cylinder 38. Each lever2I5 has a collar ZIB formed integrally therewith which fits upon the pin2I6, the collar 2I8 having its peripheral surface provided with tworises 220 which are adapted to act upon rollers 22I rotatably mounted onstuds 222 fixed to the lower inner corners of the hangers I94. It willbe apparent from this that swinging movement of the levers 2I5 willcause the rises 220 to force the rollers 22I apart, thereby swinging thehangers outwardly so that the ink form roll 40 Will be out of contactwith the plate cylinder 38. The ends of the studs 222 are partially cutaway to provide inclined faces 223, as shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7, andthe outer portion of the sleeve 2 I8 is slotted to carry keepers 224adapted to respectively engage the inclined faces 223 of the studs 222to lock the hangers in inward position. The keepers 224 are adjustablewith respect to the collar 2H3 to permit the keepers to draw the hangerstightly together, each keeper being provided with a guide slot 226through which a machine screw extends and being movable by means of anadjusting bolt 221 in an offset extension at its inner end Which bolt isadapted to bear upon a shoulder on the collar. A lock screw engages eachbolt 22! to hold it in adjusted position.

The levers 2I5 at each side of the press are connected by a shaft 230rotatable in the frames of the press, each end of the shaft having alever 23I fixed thereto, the outer ends of these levers being joined tothe throw-out levers 2I5 by links 232 so that operation of one leverwill cause the other lever to be similarly actuated. As will behereinafter described, the throw-out levers 2I5 are also arranged to beoperated by fluid pressure to swing the hangers either inwardly oroutwardly.

Separating movement of the hangers I94 will actuate a bell crankmechanism I941: (Figures 1 and 7) to throw out the driving pawlconnection to the ink fountain 80a in well-known manner.

Referring to Figures 2 and 9, the feed table 43 is formed oflongitudinally extending metal strips 240 fixed to longitudinally spacedand fixed cross members 24L At the front end of the feed table (theright-hand end of Figure 9) there is provided the sheet pusher device 44which includes blocks 242 to engage the rear edge of a sheet after ithas been deposited upon the feed table by a sheet feeder, the sheetpusher then moving the sheet to the printing couple. The sheet pushermechanism 44 is reciprocated by a lever 245 (Figures 2 and 9) having itslower end pivoted in a trunnion 246 on the press base, the lever beingprovided with a roller 24'! adjacent its lower end which engages agrooved cam 248 carried on the sheet trip cam shaft I42.

In order that the sheet will be properly positioned longitudinally ofthe press cylinders, and in order to assist the pusher mechanism 44 inmoving the sheet toward or between the cylindders in a straight line andwith its forward edge parallel to the axes of the press cylinders, apair of sheet gauging or guiding elements 45 are provided on the feedtable 43 adjacent the printing couple.

A plurality of depending stop fingers 300 (Figure 2) are spaced along arod SDI journaled in the press side frames just above the gaugemechanism. The rod SUI is tended to a position to hold the fingersdownwardly as shown in dotted lines in Figure 9 by a spring 302 (Figure2) connected at one end to an arm 302a. extending from rod 3M and at itsother end to the press frame. A cam 303 (Figure 1) is provided on theshaft Ill of the transfer cylinder 4|. An arm 303a pivoted at its lowerend to the side frame BI and connected at its upper end by a link to anupstanding arm 30411 on rod 30I carries a roller 304 which engages cam303. The cam 303 is so shaped as to swing the stop fingers upwardly atthe proper moment in the usual manner.

As the sheet S is dropped upon the feed table 43 in advance of thepusher mechanism 44, the stop fingers will be tended by the spring 302to the downward position shown in dotted lines in Figure 9 and the sheetwill be brought to a momentary stop by contact of its forward edge withthe stop fingers 3G0. Immediately thereafter, the blocks 242 of thepusher mechanism 44 will contact with the rear edge of the sheet toadvance it, the sheet will be centered by the gauge members 45, the stopfingers 300 then raising sufficienty far by the action of cam 303 topermit the sheet to move beneath their curved lower ends. The stopfingers will thereby exert a slight downward pressure upon the sheet toproperly guide it between the transfer cylinder 41 and the impressioncylinder 42. The downward pressure of the stop fingers on the sheet alsoforces the forward edge of the sheet downwardly to the extent necessaryto permit it to move beneath the grippers 305 on the impressioncylinder. The grippers then descend and grip the sheet to draw itthrough the printing couple. The grippers 305 may be of any well knownconstruction and are controlled by a cam 305 on the impression rollshaft in the usual manner.

The press cylinder supporting structure Referring to Figures 3 and 9,the shafts I and 69 of the transfer cylinder 4| and impression cylinder42, respectively, are supported in boxes 13 and 12. respectively, whichare vertically movable in guide openings 3| 0 in each side frame of thepress.

Referring to Figure 3, the shaft 69 of the impression cylinder 42carries an anti-friction bearing 3 at each of its ends and similarbearings are provided on the transfer cylinder shaft.

It will be noted that the anti-friction bearings 3 of both the shafts 69and T0 are held securely on the shafts between shoulders 3|2 and clampedwashers M3 and that space is left, as indicated at 3l4, between theinner edges of the anti-friction bearings and the inner walls of theboxes 12 and I3. This space is provided to permit the bearings to moveto the right on the tendency of the cylinder herringbone gears tosimultaneously shift the cylinders axially when tooth wear occurs. Asshown in Figure 4, similar space is left for axial movement of the platecylinder shaft II. When herring-bone gears are used to drive a series ofshafts only one of these shafts can be rigidly held in position sidewiseand all the other shafts must be located by the herring-bone gears. Inthe present construction, the plate cylinder 38 is rigidly held by onebearing on the right hand side of the press and all of the other shaftsprovided with herring-bone gears.

Each box 12 is provided with inner lateral flanges 3I5 (Figure 9) and anouter cover plate 3I6 (Figure 3) which extends past its lateral edges toretain the box in the guide opening 3). A suitable packing ring 3|! isprovided in the box about the shaft as shown in Figure 3. The lower faceof the journal box 12 bears upon a pair of angled supporting members 3;having their outer ends resting upon the upper edges of a piston chamber3!!! as best shown in Figure 8, the remainder of the length of eachsupporting member extending into a diametrical slot 320 in the upperface of a piston 32| within the chamber 3l9, with the inner ends of thesupporting members spaced from each other by a block on shoulder 3I8aloose in the slot 326. The upper edges of the supporting members 318 areeach provided with inclined surfaces extending upwardly from their endsto an apex 322 midway of the length of each member, and the lowersurface of journal box 12 normally bears upon the apices 322 of thesesupporting members. The undersurface of the supporting members 318 arecut away intermediate their length as indicated at 323 with the resultthat the two members may have their inner ends dropped, by the loweringof the piston 32!, without any portion of the supporting members cominginto contact with the upper and inner edge of the wall of chamber 3l9.The apex of each member 318 and its under bearing surfaces and endsurfaces are all slightly rounded so that it may not become jammed orseized in any position. It will be understood that the provision of thesupporting members 3l8 between the undersurface of the journal box 12and the upper surface of the piston 32l results in the exertion ofleverage upon the journal box by rising movement of the piston 32L Eachpiston 32| has a packing 325 surrounding the same and, on its lowerface, is equipped with a boss 326 which, in the lowered position of thepiston, bears upon a hard-metal plunger 32'! supported upon a relativelystrong spring 326 mounted in a spring chamber 329. The purpose of theboss 326 is to assure that the lower wall of the piston 32| will alwaysbe spaced from the bottom of the piston chamber 3l9 so that fluidpressure may act upon the underside of the piston. The spring 328 isprovided to permit the piston 32L journal box 12, and the impressionroll 42 to drop regardless of fluid pressure in the cylinder 319, in theevent that a large object or a considerable number of superposed sheetsshould be moved between the cylinders 4| and 42, and to thereby preventinjury to the printing couple.

The spring 326 is sufficiently strong to support the impression cylinder42 when fluid pressure beneath the piston 32I is released, when the boss326 will contact with the upper surface of the plunger 32']. Tension ofthe spring may be adjusted by rotation of a head 336 threaded in thelower end of chamber 329, a packing member 33l preferably beinginterposed between the lower end of the spring and the head 333 toprevent leakage of fluid pressure from the chamber.

The shaft 70 of the transfer cylinder 4| is supported in a journal box13 which is identical with the journal box 12, but as shown in Figure 3box '13 is supported directly upon a piston 335 movable in a pistonchamber 336, which piston and chamber are identical with the chamber 3|9except that the entire lower wall of chamber 336 is closed except forthe fluid ports, no spring being provided beneath the piston 335, theboss 326 of piston 335 being adapted to contact with a hard metalwear-plate 331 seated in the lower Wall of the chamber when the pistondrops. The

spring 328 associated with the impression cylinder 42 will naturallypermit the latter cylinder to move downwardly if a large object passesthrough the printing couple, rendering it unnecessary to make anyprovision for movement of the transfer cylinder in such a contingency.

As best shown in Figures 8 and 9, the chambers 3H) and 336 are providedwith horizontally extending ribs 3I9a and 336a, respectively, which bearupon shoulders 3l9b and 33Gb formed by slots in the side frames 6| and62. By this arrangement, the chambers may be slid into position in theside frames, their inward movement being stopped by transverse shoulders3l9c and 3360 (Figure l) on the front edges of the ribs 3l9a and 336a,and the chambers being secured against outward movement by small platessuch as 3l9d in Figure 8, bolted to the rear edge of the chambers andbearing on the inner surfaces of the side frames of the press.

As shown in Figure 3, the upward movement of each of the journal boxes12 and I3 is limited by a wedge 340 provided in the side frame aboveeach box, the upper surfaces of the wedges being fiat and the lowersurfaces being inwardly and downwardly inclined to cooperate withoutwardly and upwardly inclined upper surfaces 341 on the journal boxes.The wedges 340 may be moved inwardly or outwardly in the side frames ofthe press by operating screws 342 rotatable in apertures in the pressframes, the screws 342 extending through bosses 343 on the uppersurfaces of the wedges. It will be apparent that the position of thewedges with respect to the upper faces of the journal boxes may beadjusted as may be necessary to limit the upward movement of the boxesand therefore the press cylinders, or to regulate the position of thecylinders with respect to each other.

The sheet trip mechanism In order to cause the impression cylinder to bedropped from the transfer cylinder in the event that a sheet is notpresented upon the feed table at the proper moment, the mechanismhereinafter described is provided.

As best shown in Figures 2, 9 and 12, the sheet trip finger 46 ispositioned substantially mid-way of the width of the feed table 43, thefinger being fixed upon a shaft 345 extending to the left side frame ofthe press and having a latch 346 extending rearwardly therefrom withinand adjacent the side frame 6| As best shown in Figure 12, a trip lever34'! pivoted on theshaft I36 is provided at its upper end with a detent348 arranged to cooperate with the latch 346 in a manner hereinafter setforth. Trip lever 34! is bifurcated at the shaft I30, one arm 349 beingprovided with a roller 350 arranged to bear upon a trip lever cam 35lfixed to the main cam shaft I42. The trip lever 341 is urged to the leftby a spring 352 having one end fixed to the upper end of the lever andthe other end suitably connected to a fixed point on the press frame, sothat the roller 350 is thereby held in close engagement with the cam 35LThe other arm 353 of the trip lever has a link 354 pivotally connectedto its outer end, the lower end of the link being pivotally connected toone arm of a bell crank 355 which bell crank is pivoted upon a rod 356.The other arm of the bell crank 355 is connected by a link 358 with asecond link 359 at a point mid-way of the latter. The ends of the secondlink 359 are pivotally connected to pusher arms 360 and 36Lrespectively, extending upwardly from the respective ends of a rockerarm 362, which rocker arm is pivoted intermediate its ends upon thehousing 363 of automatic valve mechanism 48.

The upper ends of the pusher arms 368 and SH are intended to receive aroller 365 carried at the outer end of a cam follower lever 366 pivotedon the rod 356 and having a spring 361 connected to its opposite end todraw that end downwardly and thereby hold the roller 365 in contact witha pusher arm cam 368 fixed to the cam shaft 142.

The operation of the structure described above is as follows: The tripfinger 46 is normally held in the tilted position shown in Figure 9 bythe weight of the latch 346 but will be moved to the horizontal positionshown in Figure 12 when a sheet S upon the feed table is in position tobear upon the trip finger. At the moment that a sheet should be upon thefeed table for delivery to the printing couple in the normal operationof the press, the upper end of trip lever 341 will be in the right handposition shown in Figure 14 by reason of the fact that the rise 35Ia oftrip lever cam 35I will at that moment be beneath its arm 349. Arm 353of the trip lever will therefore be in the position shown in Figure 14,bell crank 355 will be swung to the left and the pusher arms 368 and 36|will be swung to the left as shown in Figure 14. A sheet being presentupon the trip finger 46, the finger will be in the position indicated inFigure 12 and the latch 346 will be up and out of the path of movementof the trip lever 341. Continued rotation of the trip lever cam 35! willbring its dwell 35lb beneath the roller 358 of arm 349, with the resultthat the upper end of the trip lever 341 will swing to the left handposition shown in Figure 12. This swinging movement of the trip leverwill draw the bell crank 355 from the position shown in Figure 14 to theposition shown in Figure 12, pulling the link 353 to the right from theposition shown in Figure 14 to that shown in Figure 12, therebypositioning the pusher arm 368 beneath the roller 365 on cam followerlever 366. Until this moment, the dwell 3682) of pusher arm cam 368 hasbeen opposite the roller 365 but immediately the trip lever 341 and bellcrank 355 have been positioned as described above, the rise 36811 ofpusher arm cam 368 will move opposite the roller 365, forcing the rollerand the cam follower lever 366 downwardly against the action of spring361 so that the roller will be seated in the socketed upper end ofpusher arm 388.

Although the pusher arms 368 and 361 have swung back and forth on theirpivots on the rocker arm 362 during the foregoing action, the positionof rocker arm 362 (with its right-hand or forward end up) has not beenchanged because the only downward pressure exerted by pusher arm cam 368has been through pusher arm 368, connected to what was already the loweror left-hand end of the rocker arm.

In the event that no sheet is present upon the feed table 43 at theproper moment, that is, at the moment that trip lever 341 begins toswing to the left from the position shown in Figure 14, the trip finger46 will remain in tilted position as shown in Figure 13. Because ofthis, when the trip lever 341 begins to swing to the left, its movementin that direction will be stopped at the position shown in Figure 13 bythe engagement of detent 348 with latch 346. The roller 358 on triplever 341 will thereby be held out of engagement with trip lever cam 35|and the pusher arm mechanism will be held toward the left (Figure 1.3)so that the pusher arm 36! will remain in the path of movement of camfollower roller 365. When the pusher arm cam 368 has rotatedsufficiently far to bring its rise 368a against the roller 365, roller365 will thereupon be moved downwardly into the socketed upper end ofpusher arm 36I, causing the rocker arm 362 to be swung in a clockwisedirection to the position indicated in Figure 13, thereby changing theposition of the automatic valve mechanism 48 in the manner hereinafterset forth to cause the impression cylinder 42 to drop and the ink formrollers 48 to move away from the plate cylinder.

On the next cycle of operation of the trip lever 3:41, this lever willbe swung slightly to the right from the position shown in Figure 13 byreason of the fact that in the first stage of the cycle the rise 35la oftrip lever cam 35I will come beneath the roller 358. The latch 346 oftrip finger 416 will thus be momentarily released from the detent 348and if a sheet is then placed upon the feed table 43, the trip fingerwill be depressed and its latch moved upwardly. As a result, the triplever 341 will be free to swing to the left or in a counter-clockwisedirection on its axis I38, drawing the pusher arm 368 to the left to theposition shown in Figure 12. When the rise 368a of pusher arm cam 368comes in contact with the cam follower roll 365, the pusher rod 368 willbe pressed downwardly, causing the rocker arm 362 to be rotated in acounter-clockwise direction from the position shown in Figure 13 to thatshown in Figure 12. Because of this, the position of the valves of valvemechanism 48 will be reversed as hereinafter described, with the resultthat the impression cylinder 42 will move up against the transfercylinder and the form rolls 48 will return to contact with the plateroll,

It will be understood from the above that in the normal running of thepress, with a sheet being positioned at each proper moment upon the tripfinger 46, the trip lever 341 Will cause the pusher arms 368 and 36l tobe swung on their pivots on the rocker arm 362 and from the positionshown in Figure 12 to that shown in Figure 14, and the reverse, butwithout changing the position of the rocker arm 362, any change in theposition of the rocker arm depending upon which pusher arm is inalignment with the cam follower roller 365 when the rise 3680 of cam 368moves into contact with that roller.

In order to prevent the trip finger 46 from affecting the movement oftrip lever 341 under certain circumstances, a manual control cam 318(Figure 12) is arranged for rotation into the path of movement of thesetwo elements, cam 318 being fixed to a stub shaft 31l journaled in theside frame 6| of the press and having an operating handle 312 fixed toits outer end, which handle is provided with a pointer to cooperate witha dial plate on the side plate of the press. A spring stop member 313cooperates with indentations on one surface of the cam to hold the camin adjusted position.

Cam 318 includes a flat surface 314 which, during the normal operationof the press, when operating handle 312 and the cam 318 are inintermediate position shown in Figures 1 and 9, is just below the lowerend of the path of movement of a lateral extension 315 of latch 346,permitting the latch to swing downwardly far enough to engage detent 348should no sheet be present upon the feed table 43 at the proper moment.

If it is desired to lock the trip finger 46 in down- 35 ward position sothat it will lie flat upon the feed table 43 regardless of whether asheet is positioned upon that table, the operating handle would be movedin a counter-clockwise direction (Figure 1), thereby swinging the outerend of the fiat portion 314 of cam 318 upwardly and beneath the plate315 on latch 346, holding the latch up and the trip finger 46 down. Inthis position, the trip lever 341 will move backwardly and forwardlywithout contacting with the latch.

In some instances, it is desirable to lock the trip lever 341 to theright so that it may not swing into contact with the latch 346. Suchoperation is obtained by turning the operating handle 312 to its limitposition in a clockwise direction, at which time the outer end 316 ofthe cam 318 will contact with a lateral projection 311 on the trip lever341, holding that lever in its extreme right hand position and so thatits arm 349 cannot contact with the trip lever cam 35L With thissetting, the trip lever 341 will not swing and therefore the valves ofthe automatic valve mechanism 46, if they were at the position shown inFigure 13, will not be changed from that position, or, if at their otherposition, will move to the position shown in Figure 13.

Dampening roll throw-out The feed of dampening water to the platecylinder 38 will also be discontinued by the action of the sheet tripmechanism resulting from the lack of a sheet on the feed table and theresultant clockwise swinging of rocker arm 382. This throw-out of thedampening roll I will be due to the fact that (as shown in Figure 12)the right hand end of rocker arm 362 has a link 319 connected thereto,the upper end of link 319 being joined to one arm of a bell crank 380pivoted on a cross rod 382 extending beneath the feed table. Theopposite arm of bell crank 388 has a pin 383 extending laterallytherefrom upon which normally bears the notched end 384 of a trip 385which trip is pivotally carried adjacent the upper end of the lower rodI23 included in the connection to the water ductor roll 5 I. When therocker arm 362 is moved from the position shown in Figure 12 to thatshown in Figure 13, and assuming that trip 385 is in the position shownin Figure 14, the bell crank 388 will be swung in a counter-clockwisedirection, causing its pin 383 to press the trip 385 to swing the lowerrod I23 to the left, as shown in Figure 13, thereby disrupting theoperating connection from the water ductor operating cam 52 to the waterductor roll 5 I. The swinging movement of rod I 23 to the left will belimited by the slot I24 in bracket I22 in which its upper end moves. Thewater ductor roll is so arranged that when the operating connection hasbeen broken, it will fall rearwardly (to the left in Figure 1) againstthe water cylinder II1, holding the upper rod section I28 in downwardposition.

In order to permit the continuance of operation of the damping mechanismto be manually controlled, a cam 338 is provided adjacent the rod I23 asshown in Figure 12, cam 398 being fixed to a stub shaft 38! journaled inthe side frame GI of the press, the shaft 39I having an operating handle382 fixed thereto as shown in Figure 1. Cam 398 is provided with alaterally projecting pin 383 and a rise 394. A spring latch mem-- her335 is positioned adjacent one surface of the cam to engage notchestherein to hold the cam in adjusted position. When the press is innormal operation, the operating handle 382 will be so positioned that apointer provided thereon will be in alignment with a left-hand readingon a cooperating dial and the cam 398 will be so positioned that thewater ductor roll will be normally operated but will be subject todiscontinuance of operation because the latch 385 will be in theposition shown in Figure 14 and in the path of movement of pin 383 onbell-crank 388. As described above, should no sheet be positioned on thesheet trip finger 48 at the proper moment, the pin 383 will exertpressure on latch 385 to swing rod I23 to the left to temporarilydiscontinue dampening water feed.

Movement of operating handle 392 in a clockwise direction (Figures 1 and2) from normal position will cause the pin 383 on cam 398 to be movedupwardly and beneath the latch 385, moving the latch to the positionshown in Figures 9 and 12, so that the latch 385 will be above the pathof movement of the pin 383 on bell crank 388. With this arrangement, thefeed of dampening water will not be interrupted, regardless of movementof the bell crank 388 and its pin 383.

Rotation of the cam 398 in a further clockwise direction from the aboveposition will swing the rise 394 against the lower rod I23 of the ductorroll connection, moving this rod from beneath the upper rod I28 so thatthe drive to the ductor roll 5| will be entirely discontinued.

The flow circuits of the trip mechanism The automatic valve mechanism 48for controlling the position of the press cylinders with respect to eachother is best shown in Figures 2, 9, 12 and 22 to 23.

The valve mechanism 48 includes the housing 363 carried on a standard48I fixed to the press frame adjacent the left side frame 6|. As shownin Figure 21, the housing 383 is provided with four valve chambers 482,483, 484 and 485 closed at their forward or outer ends by caps 488 andeach cylinder having a bore 481 extending inwardly therefrom in which avalve stem of a tappet valve for that chamber may move, the stem of thevalve preferably being guided in the bore by a sleeve 488. The valves ofthe cylinders 482 to 485 are respectively designated by the numerals4I8, 4| I, 4I2 and 4I3 and each valve is tended to its seat by a spring4I4 positioned between the head of the valve and the inner surface ofthe corresponding valve chamber cap 486. The valves are adapted to beoperated by tappets 4I1 freely mounted on a small shaft 4I8 fixed to therear side of the standard 48I, one of the tappets 4I1 being provided foreach valve. The tappets are provided at their upper ends with adjustingset screws 4I3 to contact with the outer ends of the valve stems and thelower ends of the tappets carry rollers 428 arranged to bear upon camsectors 42I fixed to the rock shaft 354 which carries the rocker arm362, one cam being provided for each pair of tappets. Each cam sectorincludes a low portion 423 and a high portion 424, the high portions ofthe cams being indented as shown in Figure 22 so that the rollers 428will be firmly engaged by the high portions of the cams.

As is shown in Figures 22 and 23, the four cam sectors 42I are soarranged with respect to each other that when the tappets of valves 4I8and M2 have low portions 423 of their corresponding cam sectors oppositethem, permitting these valves to close, high portions 424 of the othertwo cam sectors will be opposite the tappets of the valves 4| I and M3,holding these two valves open.

